5. The Exorcist

The book and movie are both one of the most controversial stories of all time, but the movie officially presented this hellish story of exorcism to the world! Many scary scenes from the book made it in to the movie, making it a film that's sometimes unbearable to watch. Whether it's the head spinning or the masturbating with the cross that gets you, both the film and the novel are sure to keep you up at night.

4. American Psycho

American Psycho is one of the few films that is actually BETTER than the book. The book tends to ramble and often leaves the reader puzzled at what they just read. Sure, the main character is the supreme unreliable narrator, but sometimes the words on the page just don't make sense. The movie also cuts out some of the most grotesque parts of the book, which felt like shocking moments written simply for shocking sake. Even though the movie has some puzzling moments itself, the movie is just as scary as the book AND you can understand it.

3. Misery

Since this book is one of my favorite novels, I of course judged this movie harshly. However, it's such a wonderful screen adaption that it's impossible to find fault with it. Some gruesome moments were left out of the movie such as Paul Sheldon's feet getting cut off in the book, but only being broken in the film. I'm not sure why this was changed at all, as it would have made the film 10x more frightening. However, the wonderful performance of Kathy Bates as the story's psycho, obsessed fan, is enough to make this film one of the best horror movie adaptions of all time.

2. The Woman In Black

The Woman in Black is not a particularly original story, but it does have a very ominous and atmospheric feel throughout the entire book. The hauntingly Gothic nature of the story came in loud-and-clear during the film adaption and the movie left horror fans chilled to the bone right up until the movie's soul-crushing ending.

1. Psycho

Psycho is a classic horror movie in every sense, but many people still don't know that it was a horror novel first. Both the movie and the book go to great lengths in order to take you inside the mind of a deranged, sexually-oppressed serial killer, however, the movie's striking black and white visuals take Norman Bate's psychological problems to an entirely new level. Not to mention how many times the shower scene was used in pop culture:

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Stay close to your fandom and get the latest stories and updates about all things Movie Pilot.